D’Backs GM Kevin Towers tells Chris Jenkins of the San Diego Union-Tribune that improving Arizona’s bullpen was “paramount” when he took over before last offseason. Towers returns to San Diego, where he ran the Padres for 14 years, as an opposing GM tonight.

Tom Verducci of SI.com argues that it makes sense for the Giants to lock Tim Lincecum up long-term, especially since the two-time Cy Young Award winner is fitter than ever.

I am curious if the Giants have made overtures to sign Lincecum long term or if the Zito contract soured them on big money contracts for pitchers. That said I’d be surprised if the Giants didn’t do everything in their power to make sure Lincecum is in SF for years to come, he’s easily in most people’s top 5 lists of pitchers.

Y’know, I really don’t care what MLB thinks as much as I care what Dodgers fans think. Among those I’ve talked to it’s pretty unanimous- McCourt’s a carpetbagger who doesn’t give a s*** about LA or the Dodgers and is here to take them for what he can. I’d say the free ride is over. I have no great love for Selig either, believe me- but if he can help get rid of the problem and we can go back to being a large market team, more power to him.

As further evidence of McCourt’s lack of respect for the fans (as if we needed any more), he hired the pompous mouthpiece Soboroff to be his public voice. Using a barracuda like Soboroff to play interference is tantamount to admitting that your argument is totally bogus.

I’d say McCourt did a pretty nice job of suffocating the Dodgers himself without MLB’s help. Dude’s been heavily over-leveraged since day one. If you don’t have capital, you can only leverage so far before it catches up to you and eats you alive.